The Cultural Dimensions
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CULTURAL DIMENSIONS Cultural dimensions describe the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior. PDI - POWER DISTANCE INDEX (G.H.) The degree to which people accept hierarchical authority and are willing to subordinate themselves. Put simply, people in some cultures accept a higher degree of unequally distributed power than do people in other cultures. • Low Power Distance : Cultures expect and accept power relations that are more consultative or democratic. People relate to one another more as equals regardless of formal positions. In a low power distance society the relationship between bosses and subordinates is one of interdependence. → Low PDI cultures: a.o. The Netherlands, the UK & USA, Germany and Nordic countries. • High Power Distance : Cultures where less powerful people accept power relations that are more autocratic and paternalistic. In a high power distance culture the relationship between bosses and subordinates is one of dependence. → High PDI cultures: a.o. Belgium, France, Malaysia and the Arab World. G.H.: Geert Hofstede [email protected] T: Trompenaars 06 - 53.75.07.17 E.H.: Edward T. Hall CULTURAL DIMENSIONS IND - INDIVIDUALISM VS. COLLECTIVISM (G.H.) The degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. • Individualistic Societies : The stress is put on personal achievements, individual rights and independency. People are expected to stand up for themselves and their immediate family, and to choose their own affiliations. → Individualistic cultures: a.o. the US, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands. • Collectivist Societies : Individuals act as members of a lifelong and cohesive group or organization. People have large extended families, which are used as a protection in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. (Note: "The word collectivism in this sense has no political meaning: it refers to the group, not to the state"). → Collectivist cultures: a.o. Venezuela, Columbia, Pakistan, Peru and Taiwan. MAS - MASCULINITY VS. FEMININITY (G.H.) Refers to the value placed on traditionally male or female values (as understood in most Western cultures). • Masculine Cultures : Values are competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions. In masculine cultures, the differences between gender roles are more dramatic and less fluid than in feminine cultures. G.H.: Geert Hofstede [email protected] T: Trompenaars 06 - 53.75.07.17 E.H.: Edward T. Hall CULTURAL DIMENSIONS → Masculine cultures: a.o. Japan, U.S., Italy, Mexico, and the U.K. • Feminine Cultures : Place more value on relationships and quality of life. In feminine cultures men and women have the same values emphasizing modesty and caring. → Feminine cultures: a.o.the Netherlands, Denmark, and the Scandinavian countries. UAI - UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE INDEX (G.H.) Tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. It reflects the extent to which members of a society attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing uncertainty. • High Uncertainty Avoidance : People tend to be more emotional. They try to minimize the occurrence of unknown and unusual circumstances and to proceed with careful changes step by step planning and by implementing rules, laws and regulations. → High uncertainty avoidance cultures: a.o. Greece, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Korea and Mexico. • Low Uncertainty Avoidance : People accept and feel comfortable in unstructured situations or changeable environments and try to have as few rules as possible. People in these cultures tend to be more pragmatic, they are more tolerant of change. → Low uncertainty avoidance cultures: a.o. U.S., U.K., India, China and Indonesia. G.H.: Geert Hofstede [email protected] T: Trompenaars 06 - 53.75.07.17 E.H.: Edward T. Hall CULTURAL DIMENSIONS HC - HIGH CONTEXT VS. LOW CONTEXT (E.H.) How do you say things? With a lot of words, or are you comfortable using just a few words to get the message out? • Low Context : A low context culture is one in which things are fully - though concisely - spelled out. Things are made explicit. Low context cultures are considered to be very direct, rude even. What you see, is what you get. Yes is yes and no is no. → Low context cultures: a.o. Anglos, Germanics and Scandinavians. • High Context : A high context culture is one in which the communicators assume a great deal of commonality of knowledge and views, so that less is spelled out explicitly and much more is implicit or communicated in indirect ways. In a low context culture, more responsibility is placed on the listener to keep up their knowledge base and remain plugged into informal networks. → High context cultures: a.o. Japanese, Arabs and French. PT - POLYCHRONIC TIME VS. MONOCHRONIC TIME (E.H.) The way that an individual would perceive and value time, structure our time and react to time. • Monochronic time system : Things are done one at a time and time is segmented into precise, small units. Under this system time is scheduled, arranged and managed. G.H.: Geert Hofstede [email protected] T: Trompenaars 06 - 53.75.07.17 E.H.: Edward T. Hall CULTURAL DIMENSIONS → Monochronic cultures: a.o. Americans and most northern and western European cultures. • Polychronic time system : Several things can be done at once, and a more fluid approach is taken to scheduling time. → Polychronic cultures: a.o. Latin American, African, Asian and Arabic cultures. UNI - UNIVERSALISM – PARTICULARISM (T) Universalism vs. particularism describes how people judge other people’s behavior. • Universalism : The Universalist attaches great importance to rules. What is right is always right in every situation and for everybody. A universalist tries to apply the same rules in all situations, and will not make differences between family or friends and strangers. → Universalist cultures: U.S., Germany, Sweden, U.K., Netherlands, Belgium, France. • Particularism : The Particularist assesses more the specific circumstances or the personal backgrounds. What is right in one situation may not be right in another. People in such societies treat their family or friends as best they can. The other people around them are on their own. → Particularist cultures: Brazil, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Mexico and Thailand G.H.: Geert Hofstede [email protected] T: Trompenaars 06 - 53.75.07.17 E.H.: Edward T. Hall .